Deep inside some big water projects around the world, like the newly opened desal plant in San Diego, and the legendary desal plants in Perth, Australia, is Dow water technology. Snehal Desai heads Dow’s water and process solutions group, which makes a lot of the guts of sophisticated water systems — reverse osmosis technology, ion-exchange resins, ultra-filtration membranes.

One of the most striking things Desai has seen in the last 7 years is the surge in re-use of water. “That is environmental security,” he says. “It lets you grow, while putting less stress on the water in the environment.” He lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

 

“What surprises me is how little people understand about what’s available to tackle the water problem they are facing. We find government agencies talking about a ‘moon shot’ for water – let’s start with all the information about what’s possible now. We have solutions today.”

– Snehal Desai

A big question for the future, one Dow is working on, is how does industry collaborate with communities to build a ‘fit-for-purpose’ water approach?

Our water imperative demands disruptive thinking to get us to the next level of sustainable consumption, and this is exactly what the Water Leaders Summit helps facilitate – fresh thinking that comes from in-person discussions that are critical to the development of smart, resilient water strategies and partnerships.

Learn from Desai and other global water experts sharing best practices and inspiring stories at Water Leaders Summit 2017. Registration closes May 19.

– Charles Fishman
This post was tagged under: Charles Fishman, Snehal Desai, Water Leaders Summit, Water Security